• Some Christian’s church attendance is very important to them.
• To others there are other things in their life that is more important than church attendance.
WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE SAYING WITH THEIR LIFE?
Think about it, they are actually saying there are more important things than worshipping the God that created them!
THAT IS ALMOST UNBEIEVABLE, ESPECIALLY FOR A PERSON WHO PROFESSES TO BE SAVED.
We can thank the Lord that all that professes to be saved is not like them, because if all Christians were like them, there would be:
• No Churches
• No Missionaries
• No Sunday School Teachers
• No preachers
Yes, Thank God everyone who professes to be saved is not like them!!!
For example…
Illus: On Sunday morning, September 27, 1959, President Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to accompany him to a worship service at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church.
The communist leader declined, and Eisenhower went without him.
WHAT A TESTIMONY, THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES THOUGHT THAT ATTENDING CHURCH WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT HE PUT GOD AHEAD OF THIS COMMUNIST LEADER WHO HAD COME TO SEE HIM.
Today people have all kinds of excuses to putting other things ahead of the Lord than to worship the Lord Jesus!
What a bad testimony it is to our lost family members and friends, when we profess to know the Lord and they know we are somewhere else when we should be in the house of God.
Illus: Reminds me of the Christian young lady that went to a dance. She was advised by her Christian parents that it would hurt her Christian testimony. She went anyway, telling them that she was going to witness for the Lord there.
She was dancing with a fellow and she said, “Are you a Christian?” He said, “Of course not! If I was, what would I be doing here?”
There is no better way of destroying our Christian testimony than FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OR OURSERLVES TOGETHER AS THE WORD OF GOD COMMANDS US IN HEBREWS 10-25.
Church attendance reflects that God is a top priority in our life.
Illus: You would have a hard time convincing the Lost world that you love the Lord Jesus when you take six days to do whatever you want to do and then take His day also to do whatever you want to do.
I would like to read you a letter how important church attendance is to some people.
The letter goes like this…
"Dear Pastor,
You often stress attendance at worship as being very important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following reasons and the number of times indicated:
Christmas (Sunday before or after) 1
New Year's (Party lasted too long) 1
Easter (Get away for the holidays) 1
July 4 (National holiday) 1
Labor Day (Need to get away) 1
Memorial Day (Visit hometown) 1
School closing (Kids need a break) 1
School opens (One last fling) 1
Family reunions (Mine and wife's) 2
Sleep late (Saturday night activities) 4
Deaths in family 4
Anniversary (Second honeymoon) 1
Sickness (One for each family member) 5
Business trips (A must) 3
Vacation (3 weeks) 3
Bad weather (Ice, snow, rain, clouds) 6
Ball games 5
Unexpected company (Can't walk out) 5
Time changes (Spring ahead; fall back) 2
Special on TV (Super Bowl, etc.) 3
Pastor, that leaves only two Sundays per year. So, you can count on us to be in church on the fourth Sunday in February and the third Sunday in August unless providentially hindered.
Sincerely,
Faithful Member
As ridiculous at that letter may be, there are people who profess to be Christians who attend church this way. I HOPE YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THOSE!!!
Church attendance is IMPORTANT, but listen it is equally IMPORTANT how you attend a Church.
And that is what I want to preach about in this sermon.
Today in this sermon I will be preaching about HOW SOME PEOPLE ATTEND CHURCH.
Illus: We naturally assume when people ATTEND church they come to worship God. RIGHT!!!
After all…
• It is safe to assume the reason people attend horse races is because they love horses
• It is safe to assume the reason people attend a football game thy love football.
• It is safe to assume the reason people attend car racing because they love car racing.
• So, it should be safe to assume that the reason people attend a church service is that they love the Lord and have come to worship Him.
But that ASSUMPTION does not work when it comes to why some people attend a church service.
Illus: For example, we had a man to attend our church and join our church.
He started missing and one of our church members checked on him and found out he was attending another church.
He admitted to one of our church members the reason he came was to find a wife.
After several months not finding any prospect he decided he would leave the church and go to another church looking for a wife in greener pastures.
In our text, we see that Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and he encountered a major problem.
He saw what we would see when we attend any church service.
He saw a man…
I.A MAN WITH A PROBLEM
Now when you have a problem a church is a good place to go.
It is absolutely amazing where some people go to solve their problems.
(1) Some head for the local bar. But the problem is when they get sober they still have their problem and now they have less money and a headache.
(2) Some head for a COUNSELOR and pay the counselor a hundred to a hundred fifty dollars and hour and if the truth was known the Counselor have their own problems and cannot solve them.
(3) Some head to a PALM READER who will tell them what they want to hear so that they will continue to come back for more of their foolish counseling.
(4) Some head to the DIVORCE COURT and the only ones that are going to get help are the lawyers who make a living off of people who do not know how to solve their problems.
(5) Some head for the medicine Cabinet and get drugged up as much as a drug addict on the streets.
Yes, when you have a problem and you attend a church service this is the best place you can go for a solution.
IT IS THE BEST PLACE TO GET A GOOD HOLY GHOST FIXED!!!
Only God knows how many have come to church and left a church service saying:
•“I came to church TIRED”, but after church they will say, “Now I am not tired at all!”
• “I came to church DISCOURAGED”, but after church they will say, “Now I am fired-up for the Lord.”
When the Lord entered the temple He saw a MAN who had come to the right place with his problems.
Look at verse 6, we see that as Jesus entered the temple, the observation is made that, “...there was a man whose right hand was withered.”
The word “Withered” in the Greek is xeros, (xay ros') which means shrunken or withered.
But notice that Doctor Luke says it is his “right hand”.
WHY DID LUKE TELL US IT WAS HIS RIGHT HAND?
• Most people are right handed, very few or left handed.
• When most people attend church most people have problems and very few do not.
The Bible tells us that those who were in attendance were aware that this man who had the shrunken right hand was there.
WHO WAS ALSO THERE?
Some of the people there were Scribes and Pharisees.
This sounds bad to say this:
• Did you know a church is blest to have some folks in attendance,
• Also, a church would be better off if some did not attend.
But notice this:
• These Scribes and Pharisees were there and very much aware of this man’s problem.
• They also were very watchful as to what Jesus would do if he saw this man in this condition.
We have looked at THE MAN WITH A PROBLEM, now let’s look at...
II. THE MEN WITH A PLAN
Verse 7 “And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath day; THAT THEY MIGHT FIND AN ACCUSATION AGAINST HIM.”
They do not have a problem with the Lord healing the man; they had a problem would he do it on the SABBATH DAY.
Notice the Bible said they “WATCHED HIM”.
The word “Watched” in the Greek is “Paratereo”, (Pronounced as Par-at-ay-reh'-o) and means - insidiously or scrupulously:--observe, watch.
That just means that they were watching for any little thing that might be out of order in what Jesus would do in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
There are people like this, they did not come for a blessing or be a blessing, and they came TO FIND FAULT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.
You can find fault finders everywhere you go…
Some folks would complain about a free lunch!
Illus: A protester said to his girlfriend, "I'm on my way to pick up my unemployment check. Then I've got to go to the university to see what's holding up this month's Federal Education Grant. Meanwhile, you can go over to the Free Clinic and check up on your tests. And right after I stop by the Welfare Department to see if they will increase our eligibility limit again, I'll meet you at the Federal Building for the demonstration against this rotten, oppressive establishment!"
When pastors preach to a congregation, there are different kinds of people in the congregation.
Such as:
(1) THERE ARE RECEPTIVE PEOPLE
The Congregation in Berea was such a church.
Look at Acts 17:11, we read, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Notice these words in this verse; a comparison is made between the church of Thessalonica and the church in Berean.
(1) The church in Thessalonica did NOT RECEIVE the Word of God.
They did not care if the preacher preached out of a Sear’s and Roebuck catalog. They came to find fault.
(2) The church in Berea was just the opposite. The Bible tells us in Acts 17:11 they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Notice the words they receive the word of God with a “Readiness of mind”.
That is, once they RECEIVED IT THEY WERE READY TO OBEY IT.
They were not like the fellow every Sunday when the preacher got through, he would say, “Pastor, I aim to start doing what you are preaching about.”
This happened about 3 or 4 times and when he told the preacher, “Pastor, I aim to start doing what you are preaching about.”
The pastor said to him, “Brother, you have been aiming along time, why don’t you cock the gun and shoot!!!
The church in Berea READ THE SCRIPTURES AND THEN THEY WERE READY TO OBEY THE SCRIPTURES.
Also, a false preacher could not preach in their church! The Bible tells us “They…searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
The reason we have so many bad churches and bad preachers today is because to many people attend church that do not LOVE THE LORD OR HIS PRECIOUS WORD.
Illus: So often we preachers come down hard on these false preachers who do not preach the Word of God, and we should come down hard on these hucksters!
But do not feel sorry for the congregation these false preachers preach too each week, the reason they are there is because they do not want the Word of God preached to them that is why they are there!!!
If the Word of God was preached to them, they would leave!!!
But the church in Berea was not like that!!!
Illus: What a blessing it was to the ministers who preached to this crowd in Berea. The Bible says, “…they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Illlus: A woman that loves to cook enjoys cooking for people who love to eat. And when she sets the table with the food she has cooked and people began to devour what she cooks, IT MAKES HER FEEL SHE HAS DONE A GOOD JOB!!!
This is how the preachers must have felt when they preached to the Christians in Berea.
Ministers of the gospel are indeed thankful to the Lord for the RECEPTIVE members they preach to each week.
But also -
(2) THERE ARE INDIFFERENT PEOPLE
These are the ones who attend church, but they do not have strong feelings toward the MESSENGER, or the MESSAGE.
The most that can be said of them is that they are there.
• These are the people that believe that when Jesus said “occupy ‘til I come”, he meant take up space on a pew.
• They do not usually bring their Bibles, because they don’t expect to learn anything from the Word of God.
• They don’t open their hymnals and sing, because they did not come to worship the Lord.
• They generally do not participate in the giving, because they could care less if the whole world dies and goes to a Christ-less eternity.
Then we have....
(3) THE HOSTILE PEOPLE
The minister of the gospel will not see many smiles from this group, and there won’t be any “amen”.
When the Lord was on earth, He often preached to a hostile congregation.
They followed him from city to city, listening to every word that came out of His mouth, not because they wanted to learn something, but because they wanted to find something they could use against him.
Illus: Stephen preached to such a hostile crowd, and they stoned him.
This is the most difficult crowd to preach to because they are looking for something to be said to give them the opportunity to cause uproar!
Pastors who find them preaching to a hostile congregation need to recognize that the people are not rejecting THE MESSENGER, they are rejecting THE MESSAGE.
Illus: One such pastor in South Caroline preached the Word of God and the people fought him continuously.
One man in the congregation said, “I will give you fifteen hundred dollars if you pack up and leave.”
The preacher said, I will take that deal.
He said what he did not know he was fixing to leave anyway!
Illus: Another such pastor, who was a Bible-preaching man, called another preacher and said, “Guess what?” He said, “What?”
He said, “I just got a telephone call from a deacon of my church and he told me I was fired.”
This servant of the Lord, who had been through so much with this hostile congregation, said, “I never knew it felt so good to be fired. I just told my wife that if I knew it felt this good, I wish we could have been fired from this church a long time ago!”
Most congregations have a blend of RECEPTIVE, APATHETIC, and HOSTILE church members.
When the Lord came to the Synagogue on the Sabbath, He encountered some very hostile people.
They were constantly watching Him wherever He went, to see if they could find fault with what He SAID and DID.
They knew He went about doing good, and healing, and on this day they were interested in what he would do with the man with the withered hand.
We looked at
I.THE MAN WITH A PROBLEM,
II.THE MEN WITH A PLAN,
And now let’s look at...
III. THE MAN WITH THE POWER
Luke 6: 8-10 “But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it? And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”
They came looking for something to complain about, and Jesus knew it. Jesus still did that which was right, even knowing they would complain about it.
That is the way the Scribes and Pharisees were; they could find no good because they were not looking for good.
They were eyeballing everything Jesus did so that they could find something to complain about.
These people make life miserable for themselves and for others.
Illus: Some of us can remember when we were growing up, and we walked around the house crying and complaining about everything. Remember also how our parents would get hold of us, and say, “If you want something to cry about, I will give you something to cry about!”
Some of today’s grumblers need to be taken to the woodshed for an attitude adjustment.
Notice ...
A. HIS AWARENESS
Luke 6:8 “But he knew their thoughts…”
He really did; HE WAS A GENUINE MIND READER.
He was not like…
Illus This T.V. preacher, Ernest Ainsley who claimed he could MEET a total stranger and tell them things like their name and their sickness.
They discovered the way he could do this was his wife would go out in the audience before the meeting and gather information from different ones and once the service started through and electronic ear piece she revealed it to him.
Luke 6:8 “But he knew their thoughts…”
It is probably a good thing that we do not know what is in the minds of some folks.
• One man admitted that he went to a church to see where they kept the church money. He later broke into the church and stole the offering.
Suppose when he attended that church that the people could have read his mind. They certainly would have prevented the theft.
• Some people will greet us with a hug and a smile. Such a greeting might make us think they really like us, but the whole time they are greeting us, they have these evil thoughts about what they would like to do to us if they had the chance.
• Some people sit in church, and they give the impression that they really love the Lord, but their mind is not in the worship service at all.
Listen, people think all kinds of things when they come to church, and we all can be thankful that God did not give us the ability to know what people are thinking.
Because if He did we all would have a lot less friends then we do now!!!
One thing I can assure you of is that God knows every thought you have had from the moment you came into this church.
The Scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus like a hawk, and they were THINKING about how they could trap Him.
The Bible says, “...he knew their thoughts....” You cannot hide anything from the Lord. It is essential that He knows everything because one day He is going to judge us for everything we thought and did!!!
We looked at HIS AWARENESS, but also look at-
B. HIS ACTIONS
Jesus was aware of their thoughts, but it did not keep Him from doing what needed to be done.
Knowing what the Lord knew…
(1) HE ACTED PUBLICLY
Luke 6:8 “…and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.”
They did their evil in secrecy, but He acted openly.
•?He knew it was the Sabbath that is why He was in the synagogue
•?He saw the man with the withered hand
•?He asked the man to stand where everyone could see him, and the man complied. “And he arose and stood forth”
(2) HE DID WHAT HE DID PURPOSELY
The Lord always had a purpose in doing what He did.
He knew what they were thinking, so He could have said to Himself, “These Scribes and Pharisees are trying to cause a problem, so I will pretend I do not see this man with the Withered hand,” and He could have ignored him.
But instead of doing that, He did what they were hoping He would do - HE HEALED THIS MAN ON THE SABBATH.
WAS THIS A SIN?
No, Christ is the sinless Son of God!!!
WHAT WAS HIS PURPOSE FOR DOING THIS?
It was to show them that PEOPLE were more important than the RULES the religious leaders had instructed the people to observe.
We need to remember that the Sabbath was set aside as a day of rest and worship for God’s people.
The problem was that along with the commands of God for the SABBATH, the Scribes and Pharisees had added their list of “do’s and don’ts” to the list.
Not only did the Scribes and Pharisees add to God’s command today we still have people doing that.
Such as:
• Women should not cut their hair (Where is that in the scriptures)
In Paul’s day, one societal custom that distinguished men from women was the length of their hair: 1 Corinthians 11:15-16 we read Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
• Women should not wear pants (Where is that in the scriptures)
Deuteronomy 22:5 “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.”
This certainly knocks a whole into transgenderism with these men and women dressing like the opposite sex.
The verse focuses on maintaining clear distinctions between men’s and women’s attire.
• Women should not wear make-up (Where is that in the scriptures)
Listen, thank God for Maybeline make-up. There is not anything in the scriptures that tells us it is wrong for a woman to wear make-up.
Now some women over do it!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger tells how he had a woman came to his church applied make-up in layer after layer. When she got through her face was as smooth as silk. But the first time she smiles those layers began to crack and her face looked like an earthquake fixing to crumble.
• Women should not wear any jewelry. (Where is that in the scriptures?)
When it comes to the matter of women not wearing jewelry, the Bible verses often quoted is that in 1 Timothy 2:9-10
These verses are a commonly used as a Hebrew idiom, where emphasis is placed on the second clause to show its importance over the first.
These clothesline preachers love to pick on Women!!!
They call this SEPARATION, no, it is FOOLISHNESS!
But yet you will find UN-learn men in the pulpit preaching this foolishness.
Here is the problem with these Scribes and Pharisees when they got through adding their list to what God had commanded, the SABBATH DAY became more important than the people.
The Jewish Pharisees in Jesus’ day had added many do’s and don’ts to the Sabbath law.
The Sabbath was created for man; man wasn’t created for the Sabbath.
Look at Mark 2:27, “And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:”
It had come to the place where observing the Sabbath was more important than helping people.
Illus: I heard of a church that had just put down brand new carpet, and some of the members were complaining, because some of the bus children that came would come and kneel at the altar, and since they came from the poor area of town, they were afraid they might soil their carpet.
WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE CARPET or THE CHILDREN?
It is very easy to put religious things in the wrong place. GOD’S DAY IS FOR GOD’S PEOPLE.
Look at how the Lord responded to them. Look at Luke 6:9, “Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life or to destroy it?”
The Lord asked the question, and you notice that there was no answer was given.
The answer was obvious.
Mark’s account gives us a look into the heart of Jesus as He observed this heartless people.
Mark 3:5a “And when he had looked round about on them WITH ANGER, being grieved for THE HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS,”
We see the outward things, but Jesus sees the root of the problem, the hard heart of man.
It is interesting that in Matthew’s account, he says that they asked Jesus a question.
Matt. 12:10 “And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? That they might accuse him.”
Jesus answered their question with an illustration and a YES answer.
Matt. 12:11,12 “And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? WHEREFORE IT IS LAWFUL to do well on the Sabbath days.”
Look at the POWER of the Lord Jesus! Luke 6:10 “And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”
•?The Pharisees viewed healing on the Sabbath as a violation of the law
•?Jesus viewed it as a show of mercy, appropriate on any day of the week
JESUS HEALED THE CRIPPLED MAN.
I am glad we don’t have to depend on the hardhearted people in this world, we can depend on Christ. Aren’t you thankful for the mercy and healing of the Lord Jesus Christ?
We looked at:
I.THE MAN WITH A PROBLEM,
II.THE MEN WITH A PLAN,
III.THE MAN WITH THE POWER,
Now let’s look at...
IV. THE MEN WITH A PURPOSE
Luke 6:11 “And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”
Everyone should have been rejoicing because of the healing of the man with the withered hand. The man was surely rejoicing!
Some folks were not rejoicing. Look at the Scribes and Pharisees.
(1) THEY WERE FILLED WITH MADNESS
The Scribes and Pharisees wanted things to continue to enforce their added teachings, because this kept the people under their control.
When the Lord exposed them for caring more about the day than about the people, it made them MAD!
When a preacher preach the Word of God IT MAKES SOME PEOPLE MAD.
(1) Some will stomp out of the church while he is preaching.
(2) Some will change their church membership to another church.
(3) Some will quit tithing.
They are just like these Scribes and Pharisees when the Lord confronted them they got MAD!!!
This word does not mean they were crazy, it means they were filled with rage!
(2) THEY WERE FILLED WITH MISCHIEF
When people like the Scribes and Pharisees cannot have things their way, they start plotting to overthrow the one who opposes them. In this case it was Jesus.
Conclusion:
I. THE MAN WITH A PROBLEM
II. THE MEN WITH A PLAN
III. THE MAN WITH THE POWER
IV. THE MEN WITH A PURPOSE
This passage of scripture has to do with two things:
(1) HOW WE ATTEND THE HOUSE OF GOD.
(2) THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING THE HOUSE OF GOD.
Both of these are equally important and one day when we stand before Him He will judge us or reward us!
